Poll: how long do sellers wait before sending an Unpaid Item Reminder?

[momcqueen]

Just wondering. Because I have Local Pickup enabled for most of my listings, I cannot also do Immediate Payment Required. They are mutually exclusive. 

Usually, I give buyers four days and then an Unpaid Item Reminder is sent. 

With this particular case, the buyer said she'd had problems with processing payment and I can see from the Order Details they did attempt it at one point. https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/This-order-was-not-successful-Payment-for-this-order-has...

The item sold Jan. 21. The buyer wrote to me on Jan 24 saying they'd had problems and were planning to contact their bank. I said, 'Okay!' Nothing for a few days. Then I suggested to them, as per ric's suggestion, that the buyer confirm their shipping details matched exactly their billing details. No reply. 

It's two weeks on this upcoming Sunday since the item was bought and more than a week since they spoke to me about anything. How long should I wait before going the Unpaid route? Or would you suggest a Cancel Order instead?

The buyer ID has a feedback count of three and has been a member since August of 2017. 

I do doubt they are coming back to pay for this, but I don't want to turn them off buying here forever. 

[femmefan1946]

Polite note on Day Three, UID on Day Four.

I'm not organized enough to have an unwrapped item hang around.

[ricarmic]

I believe I will hold the title of patience extreme.

I wait the maximum allowed, I believe it is 32 days before the automagic UID is opened.

For those that don't already know, I live in the stamp world, so one can expect me to have fewer problems. I don't recall the last time I had an unpaid UID happen. 

I do have some VERY good international customers that slowly accumulate items to reach a good shipping cost balance, or they just take a while to pay. I don't really care why, they've been doing it for years.

I do believe that folks in Europe especially have to wait for something to happen banking wise before they can pay. It is very common for European buyers to take a few days to pay. (I think they hate PAYPAL over there perhaps that is why),

Today I  had an OOOOOPSS... a buyer in China has been slowly accumulating a good load of auction lots. I forgot to keep an eye on the age of the oldest one and the oldest one had an automagic UID opened today. I only sent the latest combined invoice 2 days ago, it is frustrating that it doesn't go by the invoice date but anyway, I'm at a loss what to do, as far as I know I can't do anything except cancel the UID and that cancels the transaction, although I don't know what it does when there are 12 items total and only one has an UID. I sent a note to the buyer apologizing and asking them if they can just pay to clear it up. Every day is a new adventure.

[momcqueen]

I hear what you're saying. As a newer seller, I had way loads more patience for buyers then than I do now. Two buyers in particular wrecked it for me. One gave me excuse after excuse and pleaded that I wait for paycheques to come so I did.... finally she paid after asking me to wait twice  or three times as long as she initially promised.... and then after she received it left me snarky feedback because she thought it would be better or nicer or shinier or something equally daft. So my boatload of patience was rewarded with a false positive and low DSRs back when they counted for something.

The second was a lady who bought something and then was taking a trip so she asked if she could wait until she returned to pay. So I waited, waited, waited. She never returned, I lost track of time and 32+ days had passed so also I lost the ability to recoup my Final Value Fees.

Now, I am annoyed that I cannot launch an Unpaid Item Reminder after two days.

Because I only do BIN, I generally feel that if a buyer doesn't pay within 24 hours, they have no intention of doing so. Sometimes I am wrong. Sometimes, surprise surprise, the case being opened actually brings forth a payment. More often than not, however, once a case for Unpaid Item is opened, the case closes without payment. 

At least in my neck of the woods. 

But with this buyer, given that she reached out at first, does she deserve extra patience? I was thinking Sunday, 14 days after purchase, would be the day I one an UI on it. It's given her ten business days to talk banking with her credit card provider. 

[vintagenorth]

I always state that buyers have 7 days to pay me although most pay immediately. After 7 days I will send a reminder and state a date that I expect to receive payment by and only then will I file a UPI. Only had to do this a few times.

[ricarmic]

Personally I would give extra patience... but that is just me....

[edubb101]

I send a reminder on the 5th day.  Something like " thank you for your purchase...your order is packed and ready for shipment...I'm just following up on when you will be submitting payment? If there are any problems / concerns please let me know"

If i do not here back than I open an unpaid item case on the 7th day.

[lucitabby]

I send UID on day 5.

I think that is reasonable given that any online purchase, outside of ebay that I have made, requires payment right away or the  order does not go through.

[cumos55]

Most sellers will pay very quickly.....  but some do not

Resend invoice on Day 2.....File UID on Day 5.

I do allow 14 days for payment......  if buyer communicates....

There was once a buyer that forgot to pay... The UID woke her up.

There once was a buyer who was livid when a UID was filed.....  He said he had 14 days to pay.  My response was that he should have contacted me...   

He was very unhappy with the UID....  and wanted me to remove it....  My response was that it will disappear when he pays.....  He eventually paid...

UID is filled on Day 5... buyer is put on a blocked buyer list... UID is closed right at Day 8....  96 hours after the UID is filed.....

Anyone who waits much longer than 8 days for a full UID before it is closed  is asking for trouble.  My personal  view is take care of  it now and ...as soon as possible  ....as soon as allowable.....

[momcqueen]

I think I will Resend Invoice tomorrow and open the case on Sunday, which is a full two weeks after purchase. Normally, this would be done at the four-day point but since the buyer had communicated with me, I was willing to wait. Now, however, they are not responding to message(s) sent to them. 

If ebay.com allows sellers to open Unpaid Item cases after 48 hours, it seems like a double standard to force Canadian sellers to wait twice as long. If I were an American seller, this case could have been opened and closed in half the time I've waited patiently so far. 

I really don't think the buyer is coming back. If she was motivated to fix the problem she's having, I think that she would at least reply to my message and tell me she was still working on a solution. 

[zee-chan]

For your particular case I’d message them again saying I haven’t heard from them in a while and was wondering if they’re still interested in the item. If I don’t hear back by date xxx then I’ll assume they’re no longer interested and I’ll open an UID to recover my selling fees and to allow other buyers the opportunity to buy this item. If there is any questions please contact me by date xxx.

Because just sending the invoice doesn’t really tell them you’re not willing to wait anymore. I like sending a message like that to be clear that the deadline is this, if you don't reply, the. I’m assuming you’re not interested. When I was still selling on my website I would wait upwards of 1-2 months for people who asked me to hold things. I don’t label something as on hold on my website so that other people can still ask me about something they’re interested. So when a second interested buyer comes along, I send an email like above to the first buyer. Sometimes they pay right away, sometimes they just disappear. 

I used to send a similar message like above on day 5 after purchase if the buyer never contacted me about paying later. The ones that contacted me were all very good at paying at the date they promised to pay. My UID is set at 7 days but I haven’t had to use it for a few years.

[dianequeenofstuff]

The listing as a contract states 7 days but eBay.ca is so messed up they demand instant payment for BIN even when I do not have that option checked.

Still a few slip through and I send them another invoice on the 3rd day then let the automatic assistant take over on the 8th. 

[wadeantley]

I send it as soon as I can. Over the last year I think I had the most non-paying buyers ever. The auctions that I list had a way higher number of non-payers than my buy it now's. At one point it was between 30-50% of auction winners weren't paying. One specific item I listed had 4 non-paying bidders in a row. And every time I re-listed it, it would sell for a little bit less. So frustrating.

[katlover1952]

I usually wait a week then proceed much like zee chan has suggested you do with this one. Most times I have heard back from the buyer & rarely have I had to open an unpaid dispute. Good luck with this one!

[momcqueen]

I might have more trouble with Unpaid Items than is normal since I know children are often responsible for buying toys on mom's phone while she is distracted. What I can tell you is that I recently reset my Buyer Preference blocks against UI buyers from most strict to less strict and the result is that I don't have any greater number of UI Reminders going out.

[rose-dee]

My patience isn't unlimited, 5 days is my usual cut-off, but buyer communication determines whether that gets extended.   If a buyer does contact me immediately and politely with a payment problem, I'll usually give them a few more days.  Often I'll ask if they'd prefer to cancel the whole transaction to let them off the hook.  I know this does no good service to other sellers, but I try to judge my response by the sincerity and reasonableness of the buyer's explanation.   

In the case you describe, it seems odd that the buyer would attempt a payment then explain they were going to "contact their bank" and subsequently vanish.  My guess?  They tried to pay, ran over their credit card or bank account limit, couldn't get it fixed (read: extended) quickly, and are now too embarrassed to speak to you again. 

What you do next may depend upon whether you really want this customer to return.  If you simply cancel, they may be back, but at least you'll be able to move on fairly quickly and relist.  If you open a UID, chances are you'll be hung up waiting several days for no payment to be made in the end.  But at least that will tell you what sort of customer this was anyway (and may possibly help the rest of the seller community). 

Considering the buyer's low FB and recent eBay registration, I don't think I'd have a problem opening a UID after a full week of no response from the buyer, unless I was eager to get the item relisted.   I haven't done a cancellation in some time -- I seem to recall the new rules allow a seller to cancel, then relist more or less immediately, or do you still have to wait for the buyer to confirm the cancellation?  That might make a difference to me if the item were high value or in great demand.   

[widgetc]

I send a friendly reminder after about 10 days. I then have an automatic unpaid item case open at day 32. I go unpaid about once a year.

[bpl521_sell]

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wrote:

I send a friendly reminder after about 10 days. I then have an automatic unpaid item case open at day 32. I go unpaid about once a year.

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But then hasn't Ebay deducted FVF by then or do they just credit you the following month?

[ypdc_dennis]

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wrote:

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But then hasn't Ebay deducted FVF by then or do they just credit you the following month?

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eBay deducts FVF at time of sale. The credit for an unpaid item will appear when the dispute is closed in the sellers favour.

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A sale made a few days before the monthly invoice date, even with the quickest of dispute times, will not have the FVF credited until the next invoice.

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[widgetc]

Yes...once it closes I get a message saying it was credited.

I would think I only get about one item a year that goes unpaid but quite a few where it takes a week or two to get paid. I don't mind waiting as long as they eventually pay.